Upon exiting the magic door, we entered a new place straight out of a horror movie. It gave me serious haunted psych ward-type vibes. I truly hoped no knife-wielding psycho clowns were in this place. This world was grimdark, at least that was the overall theme agreed upon thousands of years ago. Seems like the locals have kept that tradition going.

  "What is this place?" Xyn all but whispered her question.

  "Not sure what it was originally, my guess is it was where the Strigoi kept their failed experiments." Rak explained, with not even a trace of fear in his voice.

  "So it's a dumping ground for a bunch of ancient vampires to drop their abominations... lovely." I said sarcastically, rubbing the bridge of my nose.

  "The Strigoi sound rather grotesque, such a lack of artistry... the poor souls that linger need some beauty." Marius almost sang; his voice was melodic.

  "Yeah, these vamps do not seem like pleasant fellows." I commented, noting a bloodstain on the wall. Luckily, it didn't look fresh.

  "I heard stories of their cruelty, and what remains attests to that." Rak spoke sombrely, seriously and with the weight of experience.

  "They were far worse than anything you can imagine. It took a crusade to destroy them." Xyn shook her head. I could hear the strain in her voice.

  "A crusade?" I questioned.

  "Yes, the last crusade was the greatest war Alborania had ever seen. The total extermination of the Strigoi line and all their works. Thousands of lives snuffed out in a foolish quest. Honour, glory and justice." She almost spat out those last words.

  "You sound quite familiar with the history?" I wondered aloud.

  "My mother would tell me stories of their great heroes of the old kingdom. The time of legend, where light fought the dark."

  "Based on her tone, you don't agree with the legend?"

  "The war was necessary. I mean, look around at this place," she gestured to the sorry state of the corridor, "and this was one of many such temples."

  "Many?" I spoke, aghast.

  "For many centuries, the Strigoi ruled over this region for centuries. They named it Stryga after a long-forgotten blood god and erected temples in its name. Not places of worship but arcane monuments to their horrific experiments." Scowling, she couldn't help but expose the horror she felt.

  "Strange for a half-breed to have such disgust toward her own kind." Rak came in like an anvil of provocation.

  Whirling on the Gargoyle like a storm ready to be unleashed, Xyn glared hatefully at the racist being before her. Fearing another Mexican standoff, I tried to come up with an idea to melt the growing tension.

  "They are not my kind." She released between gritted teeth and shackled rage.

  "You deny your other half?"

  "I deny nothing. Do you deny your origins? As a spellspawn, you are just as much of a half-breed as me. Only I wasn't created by a spell." She spat her venom and looked ready to throw down if shit got too heated.

  The standoff between the two had so much tension you could cut it with a blade and set them off into a violent blood rage. They were both associated with these Strigoi and from what I could discern. One was a creation and the other an illegitimate child of a monster. I embellished it with a bit of drama. I did not know their genuine histories and wasn't keen on that right now.

  "Both of you shut up and listen." I cut the tension as my senses pinged an enemy. They weren't too far off, and they were drowning in the system. I wondered if the Strigoi used system-generated magic to create them or perhaps they were something else.

  "Listen to what?" Marius asked.

  A savage roar in the distance, so faint you would have missed it. It heralded a beast, neither close nor that far away. Whatever it was, the creature was approaching. And unlike the rest, I could sense it traversing the corridors, paying no heed to the damage it caused.

  "A bit earlier, but we can swing it. Okay, we need to figure out our roles."

  Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  "Roles?" Rak said.

  "Yeah, like roles in the party," I turned to the seasoned veteran Xynthia. "You are a quester. What was your role in your previous party?"

  She seemed to hesitate, but only for a split second. Eyes fluttered, she took a sharp inhale as if she had something to say. Some unspoken words that were eager to escape, absent her will. In the end, however, she just sighed and explained.

  "I was the party scout."

  "Scout, that's good," I said quickly, "Marius will be a back line summoner," I got a nod from the undead, "Rak you provide ranged support," and just as I finished down the list, I sighed heavily, realising an irrefutable truth, "dammit, I am the front-line fighter."

  The truth hit me like a sack of bricks, and thus the party composition spoke volumes of what I was going to be doing in the future. Fighting from the front, practically a barbarian warrior, some noble paladin or knight. Accepting my fate, I withdrew my weapon, activating the blade and making ready my skills. A quick look at my character sheet told me I had levelled a few times and so put those attribute points into resilience. Oh please, I don't want to be a tank.

  "Hey Xyn, can you scout ahead and use that analyse spell you have to see what we are up against?" I suggested I could use my own skills, but it was better suited for the scout.

  "Right." She agreed without hesitation, falling into the role as if she were made for it.

  In a moment she was speeding away, dashing down the corridor and around the turn. Hopefully, she would be fine. But who was I kidding? She would probably be safer than we are. That ethereal ghost skill practically made her invincible.

  "Alright, Rak, you stand to the left and Marius to the right. Loose any bolts you can, and Marius, please summon that ghost of yours and try not to aim your spellsongs at us." He looked a tad sheepish but quickly reclaimed his dignified air.

  "I assure you my melodies will not harm you."

  I wasn't exactly holding my breath on that, but I trusted my undead bro, and he was a gentleman. And with that done, we were ready to face the day. A short cough came from my shoulder, beckoning my attention to the furry creature that sat atop it.

  "What should I do?" Jeremy inquired, still couldn't get used to that.

  I hesitated, for I would never want to put my beloved feline into battle. But with the revelation that he was not just a cat, I couldn't help but consider the idea.

  "Besides your claws, do you got any other hidden tricks?" I questioned.

  Somehow, Jeremy made the creepiest grin, an expression that didn't belong on a cat's face. And just like that he vanished, no fanfare, no distortion or displays of magic. Since he didn't integrate, I sensed no system fluctuations. But a moment later I felt a familiar pressure on my opposite shoulder and gasped in surprise.

  "What the!"

  Startled beyond belief, Jeremy just vanished and reappeared on the other side. It was a moment, practically an eye-blink. The first thought that ran through my mind was teleportation. There was no other explanation. Jeremy was a teleporting cat?! How did I not know this... wait a second, this makes too much sense. I recalled so many times when Jeremy would vanish to parts unknown, only to reappear where I least expected him.

  "You can teleport?" I leaned over to whisper.

  "Technically no, I just stopped existing there and started existing here," the cat replied as if this was common knowledge.

  "That makes no sense."

  "Nothing makes sense." Jeremy replied sagely.

  "It's a mad, delectable world, never to be understood... merely enjoyed." Marius came in with his own sage wisdom.

  The both of them were not making sense, and apparently it wasn't supposed to make sense. Yeah, like I would accept that? Everything makes sense once you take it apart and furiously examine it. Not that I would do that to Jeremy, I will dissect his mind through the power of conversation.

  "Whatever, but how many times can you do that? Is there a cooldown? What's the range?" My rapid-fire questions were a bit late in the game, but he is the one that dropped this on me.

  "It's coming!" Xyn announced as she turned the corner and dropped into a dead sprint towards us.

  "What is it?" I called out.

  "Abomination... level twenty-five."

  "Decent level, everyone get ready." I sent my orders, and just as Xyn rejoined the group, they raised their weapons.

  The air was electric; my hands were moving of their own accord. I couldn't stop fidgeting. I yearned for another smoke, something to calm my nerves. Never had this problem before, but the moment I learned the truth, I couldn't help but feel this way. Looking around for support, I could see my party. We were ragtag as hell, but at least I knew a few of them had my back.

  Rak was there, his crossbow levelled, his eyes locked as if he could see the enemy incoming. Was he trustworthy? Doubtful. At least for now, we shared the same goals. I can only hope he doesn't turn on us at a crucial moment. Xyn was tricky, but I don't think she has any reason to betray us. In fact, she had more reason to work with us. I could tell by the way she spoke, her rage boiling beneath the skin. That was a loss and a need for revenge. I could trust in that.

  With a teleporting cat sitting atop my shoulder, I asked him to jump down, and he just disappeared and reappeared at my feet. Xyn blinked rapidly; she hadn't seen it, and the rest seemed to take the situation in stride. Rak was unfazed, and Marius was just an accepting person. I looked to the undead, and his ghostly companion was already by his side, weapon in hand.

  We were ready to face whatever challenges awaited us. And the challenge made itself known as it crashed onto the scene. Caring not for architecture, it casually smashed a wall with its sharp turn. Stone exploded into rubble and dust, coating the ominous presence. As the dust settled, it clearly came into focus. And talk about a horror.

  It was clerkanoid, just barely, and taller than any clerk I had ever seen, and we were diverse. It looked like a patchwork of many creatures fused together. I could see a lizard's tail trailing behind the back, a bear's claw on his right and a misshapen human hand on its left. Its face really sold the abomination title. Leathery skin stretched tightly over protruding bone in a horrible facsimile of a face.

  "What the hell is that?!" I couldn't help but ask.

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